Our community’s action is going brilliantly against the unjustified ‘no mooring’ sites of the ‘safety’ zones on the River Lee. Even with the Canal & River Trust (CRT) having quite poor competence in recording boat sighting data, they say that there have been at least 154 boats on 295 occasions since October 2021 moored in the so called ‘no mooring’ sites. This mass collective action of disobedience is a great ongoing success.

The majority of boaters that use the River Lee are rightly angry or at least disappointed at CRT’s behaviour over the water ‘safety’ zones. Now CRT is rubbing salt into the wound in their recent public statement; they are trying to liken all ‘no mooring’ spaces in the water ‘safety’ zones to the same as mooring improperly, such as mooring on a lock landing or at a water point. This is shameful behaviour by CRT.

The National Bargee Travellers’ Association London branch (NBTAL) has provided a document to CRT outlining where we consider it is unsafe to moor and where it is perfectly safe to moor without blocking the navigation. It shows that mooring on the vast majority of the ‘no mooring’ sites in the water ‘safety’ zones does not block the navigation or make the navigation unsafe. The River Lee is a wide river and there is enough space to share with other users.

Nevertheless, CRT says in its recent statement that on the 10th of January it will apply a process which CRT is now calling the “Improper Mooring Process” which might lead to action against boats on the ‘no mooring’ sites. CRT is mustering up the bluster. Nevertheless, we don’t take this threat lying down; if CRT uses enforcement over these mooring spaces we will take CRT to court! CRT doesn’t have a legal leg to stand on and we will prove it in court.

However, it is not all about the courts. Let’s keep up the pressure on CRT. They are obviously rattled by the mass action resisting the unjust restriction.

Let’s keep it up, continue to resist the ‘no mooring’ sites.

On top of this we are organising a protest to march on CRT offices at Little Venice on the 26 March.

Let’s show CRT as a community we stick together!

As a community we will win!

Here is a link to the NBTA London position paper and maps showing which ‘no mooring’ locations in the ‘safety’ zones we are challenging: here: https://nbtalondon.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/v5-nbtal-position-on-red-zone-jan-2022-1-1.pdf

Many boaters are putting the campaign posters in the windows or on somewhere on their cabin. Please help show the extent resistances to the ‘safety’ zones and put a posters or two up on your boat.

If you have access to a printer you can download them here:

If you would like to posters already printed and laminated email nbtalondon@gmail.com and ask

On September 1 st 2021, Canal and River Trust (CRT) climbed down on implementing their River Lee “Safety Zones” proposals, which would have effectively removed 550 mooring spaces between Tottenham & Old Ford Locks and in Broxbourne. Citing safety, particularly that of rowers from the rowing clubs on these two stretches, and fair use of the navigation, the proposals were founded on sketchy data and only negatively affected boaters, and especially boaters without home moorings.

The pushback against the proposals by the boating community in London and beyond, described in an online meeting by CRT London and South-East Regional Director Ros Daniels as “these people”, eventually forced CRT into an independently moderated stakeholder engagement exercise. This only happened because boaters came together to organise against the zones; in the “These People” Zoom meeting CRT showed no willingness to compromise on their proposals.

The engagement report, also published on September 1 st , highlighted CRT’s total disregard for the needs of boaters on the river Lee and made six headline recommendations. One of these was to create a navigation forum of stakeholders to explore safety concerns and solutions. CRT accepted the findings of the report, effectively leaving their proposals in
tatters.

In the matter of a few months, boaters managed to force CRT into an humiliating retreat from a key policy initiative which would have negatively impacted our ability to remain on the water. Quite rightly, the boating community celebrated this victory and the power of their collective action. NBTA London were invited to put forward representatives for the navigation forum, and two boaters were selected to take part.

As well as the navigation forum recommendation, the engagement moderators Hopkins Van Mil (HVM) recommended that CRT properly enforce existing rules and regulations. In typical CRT fashion, they have sidestepped the report by finding their own loophole to justify what they want to do anyway. Just a month after the report, CRT has taken this as a cue to enforce all the stretches earmarked as “no mooring” in their safety zones – over 3000 metres on the Lower Lee and 1300 metres at Broxbourne. And they are outsourcing much of the enforcement to District Enforcement.

CRT seem to have failed to learn from getting their nose bloodied over the initial “safety zone” debacle. Instead of consulting on which of these no mooring sites are reasonable – and some of them might be – they are instead trying to barge through what is effectively a watered down version of a proposal which united thousands of boaters against them.

We continue to be “these people”.

The Canal and River Trust lied to us. They are imposing reduced ‘water safety zones’. They are still taking 295 mooring spaces away.

We are organising events in Hackney and Broxbourne

The Hackney event will be at Daubeney Fields on Sunday 24rd October * at 11am
<https://www.google.com/maps?q=51.555252,-0.035016&entry=gps&shorturl=1>).

The Broxbourne event will be opposite the Rowing Club on the same day *Sunday 24th * at 3pm

<https://www.google.com/maps?q=51.740823,-0.013727&entry=gps&shorturl=1>)

Together as a community we will stop CRT behaving in this way!
Our actions will win!

After a successful campaign against the ‘safety zones’ which were to be implemented on the Lee Navigation in Broxbourne and Hackney, Canal and River Trust (CRT) advised the public that they would not be introducing them; unfortunately, we now know this to be not fully true.

Due to the actions of our community, much of the so-called ‘safety zones’ was scrapped. CRT claims that they are willing to discuss safety in a constructive way via the newly formed ‘Lee Navigation Forum.’ However, instead of engaging with the users of the waterways as promised, they are continuing to introduce the ‘no mooring’ sections of the ‘safety zones’, resulting in the unnecessary removal of 295 mooring spots. There is absolutely no justification for this.

With 140 people signed up already to disobey the restrictions, we encourage people to moor in the places with new ‘no mooring’ signage and pledge on the NBTA website to ignore CRT’s ‘Safety Zone’ mooring restrictions.

Mooring protest pledge here: https://nbtalondon.wordpress.com/mooring-protest-pledge/

Here is a template letter for enforcement: https://nbtalondon.wordpress.com/2021/10/10/template-letter-safety-zones-enforcement/

If enforcement contacts you, you can send them this letter. The NBTA will put our full support behind anyone who disobeys the restrictions. https://www.bargee-traveller.org.uk/nbta-in-favour-of-action-which-opposes-safety-zones/

We are organising events in Hackney and Broxbourne.

The Hackney event will be at Daubeney Fields on *24th October * at 11am
<https://www.google.com/maps?q=51.555252,-0.035016&entry=gps&shorturl=1>).

The Broxbourne event will be opposite the Rowing Club on the same day *Sunday 24th * at 3pm

<https://www.google.com/maps?q=51.740823,-0.013727&entry=gps&shorturl=1>)

Bring your boats, bring yourself.

Together as a community we will stop CRT behaving in this way!
Our actions will win!

Find the new poster to put on your boat here:

 We are moored here in protest poster | National Bargee Travellers
Association – London Branch (wordpress.com)
<https://nbtalondon.wordpress.com/2021/10/10/2688/>

Download and print here:

To Whom It May Concern,

I am moored at my current location which has been lawfully moored on without any penalty for years. It is the case that this mooring space has historically been used as a temporary mooring. These restrictions are new. They are not existing rules, as Canal and River Trust (CRT) are claiming.

Furthermore, I’m moored here in accordance with the Public Right of Navigation, which exists on the River Lee. The Public Right of Navigation, as stated in the English law book, Halsbury’s Laws of England, 5th edition, paragraph 691, states:

“The public right of navigation includes the right … to remain for a convenient time, to load and unload, to moor and fix temporary moorings in the waterway.”

The length of time that can be considered “convenient” cannot be determined in advance. According to Moore v British Waterways [2013] EWCA Civ 73, paragraph 63, a reasonable right of stopping:

“….must depend upon circumstances. You cannot lay down à priori what is reasonable”.

This is a Common Law right and cannot be extinguished by Byelaws or Terms and Conditions.

Canal & River Trust (CRT) does not have the authority to restrict mooring on the River Lee. Further to this, in accordance with Section 17 of the British Waterways act 1995, CRT does not have the lawful ability to refuse a boat licence if the boat owner has insurance, Boat Safety Certification and the boat is used for navigation (does not stay in a place longer than 14 days unless reasonable or a mooring). I’m in full compliance with Section 17 of the Act, therefore my licence may not be lawfully refused.

I am moored at this location in good faith and in accordance with the law. In view of this, any sanctions applied to me in relation to my current mooring would not be supported by the law and would be challenged by the National Bargee Travellers Association.

Yours faithfully,

Boat Owners

Download and print here:

Bath & North East Somerset Council were planning to get rid of a stretch of 14 day moorings in Saltford, on the River Avon. 

Well, that was until a boater with the support of the Community Law Partnership challenged them with a Judicial Review of the Council’s decision. The Council then backed down from removing the 14 day moorings. They are now still 14 day moorings for everyone to use if they want.

A win somewhere is a win for us all.

From time to, CRT comes out with statements saying boaters are using up too much of CRT funds, however the truth is very different. In fact over the years, boaters pay more and more. The last published Annual Report in 2019/20 stated that CRT received £41.6 million in income from ‘Boating and mooring’. In which 21.6 million was from just boat licences. On the other hand when asked how much they spent on boater facilities in the same year, it was just over 2 million. Of course, more is spent on the upkeep of the waterways than boater facilities however it would near impossible to tell much each waterway user should pay for what. 

Nevertheless, in general it looks like we as boaters put in a load more than we take out. So next time CRT says something like ‘too many boats are causing too much strain on facilities’, call it what it is, bullshit.

NBTA London statement on Canal and River Trust’s response to the River Lee Water Safety Zones stakeholder engagement exercise.

Yesterday’s climbdown response by Canal and River Trust (CRT) to the stakeholder engagement with respect to the River Lee Water Safety Zones, carried out by Hopkins Van Mil, represents a massive victory for the boating community of London.
Supported and facilitated by NBTA London, boaters in London have come together to organise against CRT’s attempts to remove hundreds of casual moorings on the River Lee. In a little over six months we have succeeded in forcing CRT to abandon their draconian proposals to make life on the Lee more challenging for boaters.
Through a campaign which included leafleting boaters and non-boaters on the towpath, two flotillas in Broxbourne and Hackney, one of which saw over fifty boats cruising the Lee between Clapton and Hackney Wick, and coverage in national and local press, we have highlighted the negative impact of CRT’s unreasonable and misguided proposals on our community.
As the result of our actions, CRT has today retracted their proposals for the “safety zones”. NBTA London would like to congratulate the hundreds of boaters from London and around the country who have contributed to this victory.
CRT still believes that the “safety zones” are necessary in some form or another, so our work on this is not necessarily finished. But now they know our community has the taste of success in this campaign and we shall not just stand by while they make any new attempts to introduce measures which will have a negative effect on our community.
The full engagement report by Hopkins Van Mil can be found here:
https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/refresh/media/original/44416-010921-hopkins-van-mill-report-on-stakeholder-engagement-on-lee-navigation.pdf

CRT’s response to the stakeholder engagement can be found here:
https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/refresh/media/original/44417-010921-water-safety-zone-statement-crt-response.pdf